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Hardluck
The fortress-city of Hardluck is the last home and stronghold of the gnomish people. Following the bitter recriminations and public outrage engendered by the Mages War, the magically-inclined gnomes were blamed for the horrors that had engulfed the land. Hundreds, possibly thousands were killed or driven out of their homes, and only the deployment of military forces prevented the extermination of the gnomish race. Fearful and angry, the gnomes retreated to their ancestral lands, the mountains south of Merrow, where their people had in ancient time created impregnable fortresses. Most of these had fallen into disrepair or been occupied by foul monsters, but one, the oldest and largest, remained in gnomish hands, and what had been a small remnant of long-past glory days became a haven and sanctuary for a brutalised and dispossessed people. Etymology Originally named "Harruck", from the gnomish word for "castle" or "fortification", the shift to "Hardluck" began almost as soon as the pogroms and persecutions began, and has long since been accepted as the formal name of the city. Most gnomes consider this somewhere between a joke and a damning indictment of the outside world. History Founded as part of the gnome empire shortly after the Harrowing, Harruck was one of a series of large fortresses intended to defend the empire's southern reaches against drow, orc and goblin incursion. However, in the years that followed, the lack of incursion caused most of the fortresses to be abandoned or reduced in size as the priorities of the empire shifted. Following the cession of the gnome empire to the Glorious Arcanaeum the majority of gnomish settlements, both in the mountains and the foothills, where abandoned as the gnomes moved into closer union with their spellcasting allies. Harruck was the only fortress-city to remain occupied, in large part due to its self-sufficiency and ready access to deep, rich veins of precious metals and gems. Nestled in a wide, deep corrie in the Guardians, it benefited from easy access routes for trade caravans combined with exceptional defensibility from the surrounding ridges. While prosperous, Harruck was never densely populated, until after the Mages War. With the forced dissolution of the Glorious Arcanaeum, and the sudden surge in anti-gnome sentiment, Harruck - now Hardluck - found itself swamped with refugees. The deep reserves of the fortress were quickly exhausted, but not before the leaders of the survivors were able to massively expand the farms in the valleys below the city. While no longer prosperous as it once was, and much less welcoming to outsiders, Hardluck is still a successful city. Geography The city itself is bounded by the sheer ridges that surround it, preventing it from expanding any further above the surface. However, gnomes are natural tunnelers, and over three quarters of the city is below-ground, following the ancient mineshafts from which the original wealth of the city was created. A powerful natural spring arises on the southern edge of the city, flowing through the fortress itself before carrying on to irrigate the farms and valleys below. Climate In a word, cold. In several words, only the presence of extensive geothermal vents and gnomish engineering excellence renders the valley habitable, since otherwise it would be covered in ice for eight months of the year. As it stands, Hardluck experiences heavy rainfall from autumn to spring, but it snows only infrequently and only in the depths of winter. At the height of summer, the weather can be pleasantly mild. Government Hardluck is a magocracy - the ruling council consists entirely of spellcasters, and their chief, the First Citizen, is the most powerful member of that council. Since all gnomes have some innate spellcasting ability, it is not perceived as discriminatory, since gnomes believe strongly that magical mastery is within the grasp of any intelligent creature that applies itself to study and excellence. The rare non-gnome residents of Hardluck are not invited to comment on the government system. Day-to-day control of the city rests with the bureaucracy, which is both sprawling and incredibly inefficient. Almost all gnomes either have worked for the bureaucracy or have close relatives who do, and these personal relationships allow gnomes to navigate the bureaucracy far faster than any outsider could hope to do so. Economy Hardluck's economy is mostly self-sufficient, with low-level trading links with the Merrovian Empire and quiet, under-the-table trade with both the goblins of Gorod and the drow of Karingul. Officially the government of Hardluck denies that any such trade takes place, but in practice it is widely recognised as essential to the ongoing survival of Hardluck. A substantial portion of Hardluck's population is in favour of severing all trade links, but this position has failed to make much official headway. Hardluck's most significant export is the manufacture and sale of "gnomish technology". This includes such things as dirigible airships, right down to the gnomish steam-bow and the electro-catapult. Transportation Hardluck can be reached overland only by a narrow and difficult mountain pass, which can be traversed by wagons only with exceptional hardship, and is impenetrable in the winter months. Most traders instead use pack-donkey trains to reach the city. Within the city, most roads are paved and well-maintained, although visitors are warned that gnomish vehicles are commonplace and can move very swiftly and unpredicatably, and that pedestrians should keep to the marked sections of the roadway to reduce the risk of accidents. A secret underground canal connects Hardluck to Karingul, which represents a significant strategic risk which the government justifies due to the economic benefits it provides. It is probable that measures have been taken to allow the sealing-off of the canal in the event that hostilities break out. Sport Gnomes are not naturally athletic, but the playing of games and a healthy spirit of competition are very common traits. The most popular game in gnomish culture is kutari, which is best described as a combination of chess, poker and craps. While fiercely contested amongst gnomes, the rules of kutari are immensely complicated and outsiders will not find many gnomes prepared to teach them. Education Young gnomes are educated in small, trade-focused study groups, usually led by a semi-retired master craftsman. Those that show significant academic prowess are instead sent to the College, a wizard training establishment and stronghold of the magocratic elite. While admittance to the College is theoretically meritocratic, in practise the academically-gifted children of farmers and low-ranking artisans are instead shunted into the bureaucracy. Demographics Hardluck is one of the least diverse cities in the world. With a population of over sixty thousand, there are less than a thousand non-gnomes living in the city, almost all of them either human arcanists or elven research wizards. A tiny population of halfling traders lives in the city centre, by the market, but they take steps to ensure they're not mistaken for gnomes. Culture Hardluck is the cultural centre of the gnomish people, and as such it has a surprising density of cultural activity. The traditional gnomish theatre style of howdun is performed nightly in theatres and impromptu stages across the city, and refugee gnomes have contributed to the large museums of gnomish accomplishment that dot the city. Category:Cities